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Things I Wish I Knew About PPS

By Ashley Duty posted 09-12-2016 00:04

  

It's already time to start preparing for Midyear 2016 in Las Vegas, NV! This Wednesday, September 14, PPS will open for candidates and employers.

What is PPS you may ask? PPS stands for Personnel Placement Service and it's a giant job interviewing session held at Midyear. PPS happens separately from Residency Showcase. It is for candidates seeking residencies, fellowships, and jobs.

I participated in PPS in 2012 when looking for a PGY1/2 residency in pharmacy administration and in 2014 when I was searching for my first management job. Here are things I wish I would have known about PPS:

  1. The early bird gets the worm. When employers create their interview schedules for PPS, they have a limited number of time slots. Those who request early are more likely to get a time that works for their schedule. 
  2. Never, ever book interviews back-to-back. I had interviews that went over in time and I still needed time to get to the next booth. I had tried to schedule some interviews back-to-back to maximize my number of interviews and that didn't work in my favor. I was rushed when I made it to the second booth and wasn't early like I should have been.
  3. Clarify the time length of your interview. Most are usually 30 minutes but I had some that were 60 minutes.
  4. Be ready to ask questions. Especially for residency interviews, you don't always know who you're going to be speaking to. Have a variety of questions for different people ready. 
  5. More isn't necessarily better. I scheduled too many interviews as a student and was exhausted. It didn't allow me to do my best towards the end of the interviews. Everyone has a different comfort level with number of interviews but 4-6 is a great, manageable number.

Learn more about PPS, follow the PPS checklist, and get more tips from the Navigating PPS Guide developed by the New Practitioners Forum Career Development Advisory Group.

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11-03-2016 16:59

Ashley - Very well said.  From an employer standpoint, we can tell when the candidates have scheduled too many and back to back appointments.  While many times I appreciate the zeal, the burn out can also be obvious.

10-10-2016 21:11

I couldn't agree more.  One thing I've noticed with PPS over the last few years is some residency programs now strongly encourage a PPS interview as a way to assess the applicant pool and learn about motivated residency candidates.  It's also a nice way for students to evaluate some of their program interests and help with narrowing their choices.

09-12-2016 12:18

Good advice Ashley!

09-12-2016 05:50

Excellent tips. even though I'm not looking for PGY placement but I enjoyed your tips and will definitely share them

Many thanks